The Hexapod Walking Robot

Abstract

Now a- days, robots are made for just walking on flat surface and are unable to walk on sand, hills & rough surfaces but this type of problem can be solved by using new technology of robots called Hexapods. A hexapod is capable of fulfilling all these needs & also has high accuracy in its motion because of the use of servo motors rather than DC motors. A hexapod has multiple legs which makes it an ideal choice not only for climbing purpose but also as dancing robot. This paper proposes the concept of mechanical/structural design for a hexapod walking robot. The hexapod walking robot design is inspired by the insects around us. The main feature of the insects is their stability and their style of movement. Taking these factors into consideration, a novel design is proposed in the form of “Hexapod” that walks on 6 legs & move in at least 3 directions. The hexapod prototype can thus be utilized in applications such as defence sector as a spy bot, for health monitoring of patients in remote areas, etc.

Introduction

The engineers of today always strive to build new gadgets that can address the different problems faced by humans in their day to day life. Keeping this perspective in mind, the need of advanced robots, capable of reaching places that humans cannot, has emerged. The biomimetic [3] bots serve the same purpose. Insects are often used for inspiration while designing walking robots because of their ability to easily navigate through all type of surfaces. The insects have a symmetric structure, low weight, small size and most important: their joint legs which are at least 6 in number. Due to such a body structure, they are able not only to move freely around but also survive in the changing environment conditions [1] There are many types of robots like industrial, agricultural, tele-robots, service robots, mobile robots, Hexapods etc. The Hexapod robots, have the ability to move in an environment unlike stationary industrial robots. And they can be classified by their travel environment; Water, air, ground, ice or space according to the application and control by the device they use to move; Legs, wheels or tracks. Thus, through an extensive and exhaustive research keeping all these characteristics of the insects at hand, it then became possible to come up with the Hexapod Walking robot. The hexapod which is an insect inspired design, is highly stable in its movements because its body is supported by 6 legs with as many as up to 12 servomotors fitted in the joints and the interconnects between the main body & legs. The robot thus designed showcases more flexible movements on all kinds of surfaces & does not require any other additional balance mechanism. It however requires a positive feedback to ensure more precise movements. This type of robot finds applications in real life, such as search and rescue applications, environment exploration, and also as a CNC machine. [4] “A major goal in this field is in developing capabilities for robots to autonomously decide how, when and where to move.”

Conclusion

The Hexapod thus developed can control the system of a typical walking robot which can run on rough terrain or any other surface. This platform can then be further used for educational purposes and in different research areas. Hexapod robot can be modified as a bot that autonomously decide how, when and where to move with the help different type of sensors. Besides this, an advanced hexapod with 18 or 24 servomotors can also be implemented. This increment of servomotors in hexapod would in turn provide more flexible leg movements. Such a hexapod can also climb the stairs. The main applications of the HEXAPOD are as follows:
• military application • farming • spy robot • domestic use